23 January 2020

Sandbox - 23jan20

[Sure would like to hear some candidate preferences from our leftwing readers. Seems that no one here actually has a favorite whose creds they would put on display and defend. Probably the safest route to avoid embarrassment ;-) gjr]

Comments

Life in Kahns londinistan -

A police officer who used a taser to defend himself when being attacked with a machete should be punished for using his weapon, a lawyer has suggested.

Sophie Khan has been slammed after saying she was surprised the Met Police had not started disciplinary proceedings against PC Stuart Outten, 28, after he used “excessive” force against 56-year-old Muhammad Rodwan.

Rodwan hacked at the officer’s head in a “rage” with a freshly-sharpened 2ft-long blade after his van was stopped for having no insurance in Leyton, east London, last August.

He was jailed for 16 years on Friday after being convicted of wounding with intent.

While interviewing sports journalists about the tragic and untimely death of Kobe Bryant, Morris somehow mixed up the “Los Angeles Lakers” with the “Los Angeles N*ggers.”

It’s almost too hard to believe, but it happened.

MSNBC appears to have a 15 second delay, as the word didn’t air in some markets.
Alison Morris has not addressed the slip-up since it occurred. Her Twitter feed has also not made reference to the embarrassing accident.

“The owners of DC Solar are going to jail. But the real malefactors, the businesspeople, activists and politicians who promote subsidies and mandates for “green” energy, are still walking around freely, soaking taxpayers and electricity ratepayers while lining their own pockets. What they are doing is not exactly a Ponzi scheme, but it is infinitely more destructive than the billion-dollar fraud perpetrated by the owners of DC Solar.”

Its sad, so young. Flying on ATC in very low visibility and the age of the high activity craft with reports of engine issues from the locals on scene paints a picture. The debris field makes it clear it was a high energy impact. Quick is always better.

"The key point: the fraudsters “[told] investors they can take advantage of federal tax credits by leasing the generators back to DC Solar.” "

Sweet. That's brilliant. The generator never leaves the yard, assuming it existed. You just get a tax credit. Round and round. Fractional reserve generators. A thing they don't mention is the potential for clawback from the 'buyers'.

I always thought it was bad enough that it's a tax credit rather than something straightforward like a subsidy. Only people who pay a fair amount in taxes can benefit.

It doesn't kill me to have .gov do some basic research here. Battery tech, solar energy, it's all good stuff. The minute you churn a bit of money into distorting the retail market, you get a feeding frenzy of crazy and advantage-taking. Hopefully all the do-gooders buying Tesla cars and powerwalls feel good in bleeding the taxpayers a bit in return for very little help to the environment, if any.

That's the beauty of government as it grows like Topsy. There's always more opportunities to remove money from the folks you don't like and pass to those you do.

Now….in their defense…..it really only needed to be "good" enough to convince the slow witted (Punchies, Robertas, and dugsKKKis) and keep them in a constant froth until the election.

WELL, YES - Top British spy report::

‘Strong possibility’ that anti-Trump dossier was completely fabricated. And shoddily fabricated, at that. How much have they gotten away with in the past, that they felt they could do such a third-rate job in going after a billionaire who was also President of the United States?

“House Democrats thought that by impeaching President Donald Trump it would impair him heading into 2020—and they may come to regret their decision.

According to the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, the nation's 45th commander in chief has achieved the highest approval ratings of his presidency, even under impeachment. The Post reports that 44 percent of American adults approve of the job that Trump is doing in office, a significant improvement from his 38 percent rating in late October.

Among registered voters, Trump's rating climbs to 47 percent in the same survey.

Part of a trend?

The Post's survey showing an improvement in Trump's approval rating is one of three recent polls showing similar marks for the president.”

DeSantis stated, “Today we’re announcing that mission has been accomplished. It goes beyond Common Core to embrace common sense.” He added, “We need to measure results… but you need to do that in a way that makes sense.”....

Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said on Friday, “When you’re trying to remember what’s four times four, and you have to think about it and it’s not automatic, you’re never going to be able to conquer algebra and all those other courses.” Another significant change: students in high school will be taught how to balance their checkbooks and apply for loans in an attempt to teach them financial literacy. That course had heretofore been offered as an elective, not a required course.

Additionally, instead of reading “chunks” of books, meaning excerpts from great books, the new program urges the reading of complete books. Either the SAT and ACT would be required for high school students, as well as the Florida Civic Literacy Test for seniors, which TampaBay.com describes as a “100-question exam to encompass the U.S. citizenship exam plus questions about landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases.”

“Ultimately, the panel majority logically “declined to enlist the federal judiciary in this quixotic undertaking.” Duncan’s courageous refusal to engage in it amounts, in progressive parlance, to “deadnaming” or “misgendering.” For transgender activists and the rest of the “woke” mob, such rogue behavior is akin to malicious aggression. But it is reflective of both the biological truth that sex is immutable and the linguistic truth that, for a language to remain viable, words must have readily discernible meanings.”

"Flying on ATC in very low visibility and the age of the high activity craft with reports of engine issues from the locals on scene paints a picture"

It's a twin turbine aircraft. No engine issues. The painting you're looking at is a stick figure cartoon.

I worked in a building under the final flight path of the accident helo, at about the final 4 second mark, for 4 or 5 years. 30 years and xx lbs ago, rode my bicycle to work on the 101 and had ridden the hills above. Road bike.

Most people have seen the terrain in the MASH TV intro sequence... that's Las Virgenes Road a couple of miles south.

After listening to the ATC recording and watching Juan Brown's take onit, my short take from my perspective of a PP SEL IA with about 1500 hours in fixed wing only is that following the 101 in a climb and confessing to ATC would have led to survival and a possible shitload of paperwork.

The terrain rises fast on either side of the freeway. A 180 degree turn made agressively a few seconds earlier also would have had a happier ending.

An IFR flight all the way really wasn't possible or practicable. Might as well have driven.

Good read by VDH. Where we are today and what to expect. Actually, just a good summary of what we already know, think, believe, have had confirmed, and what we have discussed here.
Wonder what the next “surprise” will be. We will find out soon enough, lol

Target Trump Forever

“Destroying the president is not just the only viable trajectory for the Left, but it is also the only possible narrative given that focus on the current left-wing agenda is slow-motion suicide.”

“In Pennsylvania, you’re talking hundreds of thousands of related jobs that would be — they would be unemployed overnight,” said Mr. Fetterman [PA’s lt. governor], who endorsed Mr. Sanders in 2016 before Donald J. Trump won his state, pop. 12.8 million, by just over 44,000 votes. “Pennsylvania is a margin play,” he added. “And an outright ban on fracking isn’t a margin play.”

And don’t forget that Joe Biden has said he’s down with this nonsense, with promises of how there will be so many better “green jobs” with the energy revolution that Washington can deliver with the mere snap of the fingers. He must believe $50,000-a-month natural gas type jobs grow on trees in Ukraine or something. Of course, Hillary made these same promises to coal miners in 2016, too. But no one who doesn’t live in the dream world of a college town believes these kind of political promises any more.

Which is why I hope the Democratic Party runs hard with their anti-energy platform.

Another win for the administration and common sense that may telegraph the beginning of the end of stray judges issuing nation wide injunctions. -

The lawsuits will continue, but immigrants applying for permanent residency must now show they wouldn't be public charges, or burdens to the country.

The new policy significantly expands what factors would be considered to make that determination, and if it is decided that immigrants could potentially become public charges at any point in the future, that legal residency could be denied.

Roughly 544,000 people apply for green cards annually. According to the government, 382,000 are in categories that would make them subject to the new review.

Immigrants make up a small portion of those getting public benefits, since many are ineligible to get them because of their immigration status.

In a separate opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch urged his colleagues to confront the “real problem” of so-called nationwide injunctions, orders issued by a single judge that apply everywhere. In this case, even though the administration won rulings in two different appellate courts covering 14 states, its policy could not take effect.

“What in this gamesmanship and chaos can we be proud of?” Gorsuch wrote in an opinion joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.

DonB 1117am - "The lawsuits will continue, but immigrants applying for permanent residency must now show they wouldn't be public charges, or burdens to the country." That is what was immigration policy in 1949 when the Rebanes stepped off the boat. All immigrants, even the invited ones like us, had to have a 'sponsor' who contracted with the feds to provide for and support their immigrant family for one year. That would be ample time for the new arrivals to find a job and get settled nearby. Our sponsor took care of us for four months, then dad and mom got jobs in the Willimantic thread mill loading thread machines (very crappy jobs) and we moved into a one room 'apartment', there sharing the kitchen and bathroom with the landlady. But that was just the first step up America's great economic ladder for which we were very grateful. Hence I support such an immigration policy.

Pandering to the screaming blue mob on social media is a looser for corporations -

Overall, more than 8-in-10 consumers said “political correctness has gone too far” and that “today, everybody is offended by the smallest thing.” Less than 13.5 percent of consumers disagreed with those statements.

“The whole thing was a hoax, made up out of whole cloth. (Not the death of the boy, which was real, but the assertion that he was murdered by Israeli “settlers.”) The tweet by the Palestinian politician, Hanan Ashrawi, has now been deleted, as has Tlaib’s retweet. But Tlaib’s deletion was silent, with no explanation or apology, or any attempt to correct the misinformation that she had spread to tens of thousands on Twitter.

What happened is obvious. Like many people, Tlaib believes anything that tends to confirm her pre-existing bigotry. There is no need to investigate or verify the facts when an opportunity to smear Jews is at hand.”

“Ancestry.com should be able to solve the Omar family asparagus mystery...”
Posted by: Odlah 27 January 2020 at 03:19 PM

If only it was so simple, odlah. Ancestry.com should be able to solve the mystery if her father did not assume the identity of someone with the same last name and if public records where available and kept in Somalia. Ancestry.com would help also if the father did not change his last name later when he discovered that former employees of a communist government are not allowed in the US. Mom and sons went to Britain, Omar’s dad and her went to the US later.

Screen shots of now deleted social media posts of Ilan’s uncle saying how beautiful his nephew and niece are (Ilan and her brother/husband) and the same goes for her sister sending her love from Britain to be siblings (Ilhan and her brother/husband). But, screenshots on social media do not stand up as evidence. The “husband” brother has since returned to Britain and the sister and Mother have clammed up in Britain.

The FBI will sort it out. Ilan will not address the issue, claiming it is a character assassin of her character by the Right Wing Nazis. Do not go there ,do not ask.

The thing that makes me laugh is the three of them (husband #1, husband #2, and Ilhan sharing the same abode while going to North Dakota State. If the husband was not her brother, then I wish I was a fly on the wall, lol.

“Trump up to 50/49. Don't know what happened to Punchy, he's usually on top of the polling results.”

I figured Punchy would not be discussing the snapshot in time today if he read my 8 39 am. I have been waiting for The Punch to be running over here praising the warmonger John Bolton to the high heavens, but I think wrong. It set the web on fire...but no The Punch. Maybe he has a touch of that Kung Flu going around.

Yes, this topic has been touched on today, but I wish to drive it home. Justice Clarance Thomas has been sounding the alarm on the issue for some time now and saying that the issue needs to be addressed. I like Justice Gorsuch’s reasoning....especially considering we are a Republic and dove tails with Federalist thinking.

"Today the Court (rightly) grants a stay, allowing the government to pursue (for now) its policy everywhere save Illinois. But, in light of all that’s come before, it would be delusional to think that one stay today suffices to remedy the problem. The real problem here is the increasingly common practice of trial courts ordering relief that transcends the cases before them. Whether framed as injunctions of 'nationwide,' 'universal,' or 'cosmic' scope, these orders share the same basic flaw—they direct how the defendant must act toward persons who are not parties to the case," Gorsuch wrote.

Equitable remedies, like remedies in general, are meant to redress the injuries sustained by a particular plaintiff in a particular lawsuit. When a district court orders the government not to enforce a rule against the plaintiffs in the case before it, the court redresses the injury that gives rise to its jurisdiction in the first place. But when a court goes further than that, ordering the government to take (or not take) some action with respect to those who are strangers to the suit, it is hard to see how the court could still be acting in the judicial role of resolving cases and controversies. Injunctions like these thus raise serious questions about the scope of courts’ equitable powers under Article III," he explained.

"It has become increasingly apparent that this Court must, at some point, confront these important objections to this increasingly widespread practice. As the brief and furious history of the regulation before us illustrates, the routine issuance of universal injunctions is patently unworkable, sowing chaos for litigants, the government, courts, and all those affected by these conflicting decisions," he wrote.

These nationwide injunctions create confusion and "tend to force judges into making rushed, high-stakes, low-information decisions."

"The rise of nationwide injunctions may just be a sign of our impatient times. But good judicial decisions are usually tempered by older virtues," the Supreme Court justice insisted.

"There are currently more than 1,000 active and senior district court judges, sitting across 94 judicial districts, and subject to review in 12 regional courts of appeal. Because plaintiffs generally are not bound by adverse decisions in cases to which they were not a party, there is a nearly boundless opportunity to shop for a friendly forum to secure a win nationwide," Gorsuch explained.

Worse, it is possible that plaintiffs can win "conflicting nationwide injunctions."

Gaps: think they are now classifying Asians as whites when it comes to minorities and the achievement gap in education. Hey, they said there are no more people of color left concerning the Dem candidates still in the race. I thought, “Hey, what about Yang? What about Tulsi?”, lol. I rest my case.

When I grew up, we had one Filipino family in the area. Nice folks, the kid played with my brother a lot in our house and his parents and my parents had many dinners in each others’ homes. Filipinos were classified as white. If you go back far enough, Hispanics were classified as white too for the forms. You had Black, White, and us Firewater Indians, like the Cleveland Indians or Washington Redskins...not the India Indians. Anyway.....

Re: the fiery dustup between Sec of State Pompeo and the NPR reporter. Pompeo, in the heated exchange, said journalists are so dumb they could not find Ukraine on a map. NPR has vigorously defended their journalist and we now have two sides to the story:

“Pompeo asserts Kelly again lied "in agreeing to have our post-interview conversation off the record."“

“Pompeo then had a pop quiz for Kelly, a veteran national security correspondent who has reported from China, Russia and, most recently, Iran.

He asked if I could find Ukraine on a map; I said yes," she continued. "He called out for his aides to bring him a map of the world with no writing, no countries marked. I pointed to Ukraine. He put the map away. He said, 'People will hear about this.'

He ends the statement with an assertion that appears to falsely imply Kelly was unable to locate Ukraine on a map.

"It is worth noting," he concludes with no further explanation, "that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine."

“Kevin McCarthy’s tireless work ethic has produced a new dynamic, united, and aggressive House Republican Party,” Gingrich told Breitbart News. “Thanks to his efforts, Republicans enter 2020 from a position of strength—with the necessary resources, recruits, and message to win. Kevin’s leadership, along with President Trump on the ballot are why I’m convinced this will be a one-term Democratic majority, and we will be hearing from Speaker McCarthy in 2021.”

More impressively than the new record McCarthy has established heading into the all important 2020 campaign, as Republicans embark on an effort to retake the House majority this year alongside Trump, who is seeking reelection, is the fact that McCarthy set this record from the minority. It’s almost unheard of for a party in the minority to do so well in fundraising, as it is usually easier for the party in the majority to raise big dollars.

Now Don, let’s not pull a Beese Blunt and project wildly into the ‘what-if connecting the dots’ in lala-land, :)

But, since you brought it up, just imagine the riots in the streets when Trump wins (despite 2-4 October surprises) in November. It will be like those summers of riots in the 60’s with National Guard called in. The only difference is it will the white people going nuts. Burn baby burn. Street Fight Man. I will laid odds on that.

We will get a foretaste of that when the Bernie Bros exact revenge when Bernie is screwed, blued, and tattooed. They don’t take kindly to that. Remember the DNC stealing it from Bernie in 2016? Remember the Alamo. But, 2020 will have everybody on the streets, including boisterous Nasty women.
—————
Speaking of education (above), have you seen the Trump-Pence campaign ad on the topic?

BillT: "We will get a foretaste of that when the Bernie Bros exact revenge when Bernie is screwed, blued, and tattooed."

I was considering that this morning.

It's a thing I haven't run into at all yet, but I'll pitch out my prediction o' the day.

Democratic elite doesn't like Bernie, wants Biden. It all rhymes a bit with 1968. Gonna be rambunctious kids at the convention. Betcha that the MSM, including the ever-faithful NYT will gang up on Mr. Bernie telling him to git out, don't be Eugene McCarthy, that's why we didn't get the wonderful Hubert Humphrey and got that bastard Nixon instead.

I'll keep an eye out for articles on same. The word has to have come down from KAOS headquarters by this point.

You know, I think I've run into women like that, both sides of the aisle. They sound so similar that I wonder if there isn't some kind of DNA angle to it. Cool. Yet more proof of the power of 4chan. I like the idea of an internet image board as a significant player in US politics.

So the npr reporter couldn't find Ukraine on an unlabeled map and cnn goes full basket of deplorables -

At first, the only thing notable about the segment was how so much failure was able to fit on a single TV screen. Don Lemon is one of the lowest rated anchors in all of cable news.

DON LEMON: [The NPR reporter] has a master’s degree in European studies from Cambridge University. Also, [Pompeo] doesn’t really say that she couldn’t identify Ukraine on a map, he insinuates it’s just a — it’s just a petty attempt to put her down, right? Is that what this is?

RICK WILSON: Of course, of course. [Pompeo’s] just trying to demean her, and obviously, it’s false. And, look, he also knows, deep in his heart, that Donald Trump couldn’t find Ukraine on a map if you had the letter “U” and a picture of an actual physical crane next to it. [Pompeo] knows this is an administration defined by ignorance of the world, and so that’s partly him playing to their base and playing to their audience, you know, the credulous boomer rube demo that backs Donald Trump — that wants to think that [does Trump supporter impersonation with southern accent] ‘Donald Trump’s the smart one, and y’all – y’all elitists are dumb!'”

Upright: “Effective bias and propaganda isn’t so much about what you say as it is about what you prevent from being heard. Control the flow of information to people and you control people.” —Peter Heck

Narrative buzzkill: “All Mr. Bolton reportedly adds is news of a conversation in which Mr. Trump made a direct connection between the two that nearly everyone already assumed. This still isn’t close to a high crime or misdemeanor.” —The Wall Street Journal

Friendly fire: “Now, I know I’m not the only Jewish candidate running for president. But I am the only one who doesn’t want to turn America into a kibbutz.” —Michael Bloomberg (“While Bloomberg, 77, did not mention [Bernie Sanders], 78, by name, there was no mistaking the reference to the socialist during remarks to potential Jewish Democratic primary voters. Sanders volunteered on an Israeli kibbutz, a communal farm, in the 1960s.” —Washington Examiner)

How? By putting your son on one of their boards? “We can help [the Chinese] with some of their problems.” —Joe Biden

Non compos mentis: “Let’s be clear: Transgender equality is the civil rights issue of our time. There is no room for compromise when it comes to basic human rights.” —Joe Biden

A blast from the past I: “There are many very patriotic Americans who are engaged in the intelligence community. For years, decades now, I have saluted their service. Wherever the decision is, whether it’s from the administration, as was the case in the Bush administration, to withhold information from Congress, I fought that. But you don’t fight it without a price because they come after you. And they don’t always tell the truth about it.” —Nancy Pelosi in 2014

A blast from the past II: “You take on the intelligence community, you’re a person of courage.” —Nancy Pelosi, 2014

Braying jackass: “[Trump’s spokespeople are] like the North Korean army in the Korean War — we should charge without rifles. They don’t even have weapons. They just come out. ‘Take me, take me. I’m willing to say anything for this president.’” —MSNBC’s Chris Matthews

The BIG Lie: “If Senate Republicans are not going to vote to call Mr. Bolton and Mr. Mulvaney and the other witnesses now, if they’re not going to ask for notes and emails, they’re going to be part of the cover-up too.” —Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

Letting the cat out of the bag: “[Impeachment] does have to do with the elections that are coming up later this year.” —Rep. Jason Crow

And last… “It is rather a surprise to learn that we are all going to die from a coronavirus pandemic considering we already died from swine flu, bird flu, SARS, and ebola.” —Matt Walsh

Mary Louise Kelly did find Ukraine on an unmarked map...and that pissed off Pompeo even more...

That is the map of the world that Pompeo is using to teach Trump geography...

..."It's not like you've got China on your border," the authors quoted Trump as telling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting between the two leaders. - from the best seller, "A Very Stable Genius"

Gotta dock you thought for playing the Scarborough card though! Truth be told he went a lot further than anyone expected him to after his big break as the kid sitting on the porch and playing the banjo in Deliverance!

Well, let’s circle the barn again. The FBI spied on Trump. “No they didn’t! “ Yes, they did. .No, they did not spy on Trump.” Yes they did and did it illegally. “Did not!”. Did too. “You are a friggin Nazi!” Whatever.

Sorry, but I just can not do with the 49er Turbo Blitz Rush, there healthy linemen, their great TE, their coaching. I must go with KC. Have you seen their namesake? Blood is thicker than water, paleface. :). Go Chiefs!

I see your George Kittle flying a couple to the Super Bowl and raise you one 2nd year QB building homes for vets.

“The biggest new star quarterback of NFL doesn’t get a lot of free time. Practicing is as important as game time, so when the time comes to relax, it’s understandable that a young football star might actually rest. But it turns out Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs’ young QB, is a star both on and off the field.

The second-year QB spent his day off helping build transitional housing for veterans in the Kansas City area with The Veterans Community Project, a non-profit that’s building a specialized community network of tiny homes and services dedicated to supporting every man and woman who served — also known as Tiny Houses for Homeless Vets.”

Sorry, but I just can not do with the 49er Turbo Blitz Rush, there healthy linemen, their great TE, their coaching. I must go with KC. Have you seen their namesake? Blood is thicker than water, paleface. :). Go Chiefs!

I see your George Kittle flying a couple to the Super Bowl and raise you one 2nd year QB building homes for vets.

“The biggest new star quarterback of NFL doesn’t get a lot of free time. Practicing is as important as game time, so when the time comes to relax, it’s understandable that a young football star might actually rest. But it turns out Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs’ young QB, is a star both on and off the field.

The second-year QB spent his day off helping build transitional housing for veterans in the Kansas City area with The Veterans Community Project, a non-profit that’s building a specialized community network of tiny homes and services dedicated to supporting every man and woman who served — also known as Tiny Houses for Homeless Vets.”

That fad burned out fast, why pay more for something that's not actually healthier but fits the woke narrative -

We may offer plant-based alternatives again in the future, but we have removed it from the menu for now," said a spokeswoman for Tim Hortons.

The fast-food restaurant chain had introduced the plant-based protein as a limited time offer, the spokeswoman said, adding that: "the product was not embraced by our guests as we thought it would be."

Responding to the removal of its products, Beyond Meat said that it may work with Tim Hortons again in the future.

Tim Hortons said in July it was expanding plant-based meat additions in nearly 4,000 restaurants. There are about 4,800 Tim Hortons restaurants in North America.

Tim Hortons launched breakfast sandwiches with the plant-based sausage patty in June and the plant-based burger patty in July.

Someone lead the pony tail of ignorance to his fainting couch after another dem big push to turn Texas blue was not even close bigger win than Trumps in that district, 58 - 42 sweet -

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republicans won handily a closely watched special election Tuesday to keep hold of a suburban Houston district that President Donald Trump won easily four years ago, fending off a national blitz by Democrats in a Texas legislative race.

The victory by Republican Gary Gates, who put more than $1.5 million of his own money into his run for state House District 28, is sure to bring a sigh of relief for the GOP in a race that was being tracked far beyond Texas. By the final weeks, the race had escalated into the first big special election of 2020.

In final unofficial results, Gates polled 58% of the vote to 42% for Democrat Eliz Markowitz.

Presidential candidates Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren had endorsed Markowitz, and outside groups flooded the race with six-figure checks and television ads. Beto O'Rourke practically made the district a second home after ending his own presidential campaign in November, spending weekends knocking on doors in Katy's affluent neighborhoods.

It escalated a normally minor local election into a high-stakes test of Democrats' chances in Texas this November, and whether suburban voters are turning away from the party of an impeached president.

While I do not join the bandwagon that Iowa and NH are imperative to have a great showing to win the Dem nomination (as juxtaposed against South Carolina and Super Tuesday), I found a couple of items interesting and confirmed my beliefs.

1) “The changing fortunes of the leading candidates underscores the volatile nature of the primary after more than a year of campaigning, as voters wrestle with which candidate can defeat President Trump. Despite the ascent of Mr. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, the poll also highlighted the combined appeal of the centrists: 55 percent of those surveyed said they preferred a standard-bearer who is “more moderate than most Democrats.” Just 38 percent said they wanted one who is “more liberal than most Democrats.”

2) Ms. Klobuchar’s supporters could play the most crucial role, though, should she fail to achieve 15 percent in most precincts. When voters were asked whom they would support if they were left with only four choices — Mr. Sanders, Mr. Buttigieg, Mr. Biden and Ms. Warren — Mr. Biden was the overwhelming favorite of Ms. Klobuchar’s backers. He received 55 percent of them in this scenario while Ms. Warren received 18 percent.

Guess that means if Amy falters, I will put Steve and Punch in the Biden camp.
—-
In related news, Senator Doug Jones will lose Alabama no matter which way he votes on impeachment. The die is cast on that one.

Trump now owns Guns and Life. Only candidate who does and not one single Dem is even in the ballpark. Add border control to the items Trump owns. There really is a stark difference between the final two choices this year. Rather refreshing.

Just poking around...still don’t give a hoot who wins the Dem nomination. Bernie, IMHO, would do best against Trump on the debate stage and be a tough opponent for Trump....but I am only talking exclusively about a few hours on a debate stage, not the election. Anyway....

BillT: "Trump now owns Guns and Life. Only candidate who does and not one single Dem is even in the ballpark."

Interesting point. As I read that, the Democratic candidate (regardless of identity) will be backed into a corner on all these matters. No mere handwaving about centrist immigration policy, but open borders. No middle of the road platitudes about gun control, but round up them military style assault machine rifles. Yay abortion!!

It isn't Trump that'll force an uncomfortable stance (or no stance and pretend it doesn't exist), but their own constituents. When all those crazy people are your people, you are riding the tiger. Trump sez what regular schmoes want to hear, the (D) candidate has to please their most radical members or there'll be hell to pay.

Importers including Mexico and Japan have purchased at least 100,000 metric tons of American yellow grain for four straight business days, the longest streak of such deals in at least three years, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed Tuesday.

Chicago corn futures were a bright spot Tuesday in crop markets hit by fears over the spreading coronavirus in China. Futures for March were up 1.3% at $3.855 a bushel.

“There is no one on this side of the globe offering corn for less,” said John Payne, a senior broker at Daniels Trading.

Places like Ukraine are complicated, and there's no point in anyone here pretending that they understand .0001% of it.

I'm still not sure why an argument between the Russian Federation and Ukraine is the US's business to the degree it has been made. It's as if the USSR backed electoral politics and sold missiles to an anti-US Canada.

There are two events I consider game changers for Trump and the Deplorables during the last two years.
1) Trump address at CPAC when he said that when Hayden Williams was beat up on the Berkeley campus, Hayden took a punch for all of us.

2) The latest March of Life rally. Trump’s address to the assembled was an inspiring speech, no matter your views on this divisive topic. Their voices finally got heard. I can’t believe how young and friendly and positive the women and men were. All smiles, left no trash nor shouting of vulgarities. An attractant rather than a repellant. The middle of the roaders and pro-live Democrats have no welcome mat in the big tent of the Democrat Party. Not welcomed in the Democrat Party.

"If (the) men's last name was not Biden, would (you) have given a hoot about Ukraine corruption???"

If their last name wasn't Biden (or Bush or Clinton), I'm afraid that the Impregnator of Strippers wouldn't have gotten the gig.

I'm afraid it's a case where Whataboutism doesn't really fly. Maybe it's that you need to be both greedy and powerful to take advantage of corruption, especially in sketchy countries. Greedy/powerful people are interesting, ergo you 'give a hoot'.

Personally, there's no point in legal action against either Creepy Dad or Creepy Son, and perhaps no basis. But, it's certainly worthwhile to know about if you are thinking about voting for Hunter's father.

Not to say that Trump wasn't corrupt in his own way, although involuntary 'donations' to big city Democrats has to get disheartening over time.